Teriyaki Salmon Bowls with Asian Slaw

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These teriyaki salmon bowls are the perfect BOWL meal – filling but not too heavy, some protein, some veggies, and some delicious sauce. Crispy, blackened salmon with a sweet and spicy teriyaki marinade, some tangy Asian cole slaw, and some fluffy white rice. And ok, a frozen egg roll from the freezer on the side because why not…

I love a good “bowl meal,” and this one does not disappoint. Bowl meals (like my egg roll bowls) have a couple guidelines to achieve maximum amazing-ness:

The base: here (and often, for me) RICE. Yumm. You could also use other veggies, or brown rice, or quinoa.
The protein. Some yummy teriyaki salmon.
Some veggies (and crunch!) The asian slaw – cabbage, carrots, green onions, and tangy, sweet dressing.
Some kind of flavor and sauce. You can add extra sriracha or hot sauce, or use the Asian slaw sauce for some flavor!

This is one of my favorite weeknight meals to make because it is so fast. I usually use frozen salmon, because that’s usually what I have in the sloth kitchen. I only cooked two frozen salmon filets here, but this marinade makes enough to easily do four.

Teriyaki Salmon

Marinade your salmon for at least an hour but up to 8 (or heck… just let it go overnight. I know a lot of people say not to marinade fish that long, but my Japanese grandma told me to in this recipe and she knows her salmon!)

The magic teriyaki sauce includes:

Soy sauce – lots of flavor and salt
Brown sugar (or honey) – for that classic teriyaki sweetness
Garlic (powder or fresh)
Ginger (powder or fresh)
Sesame oil – you could sub another oil, but this adds so much flavor! Highly recommend. I like this brand.
Sriracha or other hot sauce – if you want it spicy
Cornstarch – this helps the sauce thicken and coat the fish better so you get lots of crispy charred flavor when it cooks

Mix it all up in a bowl and whisk to dissolve the cornstarch. If you’re using garlic powder and ginger (usually what I do) microwave it 30-45 seconds to help everything dissolve.

Add it to the salmon in a flat dish or zip lock bag, and let these flavors go to town! I usually turn the salmon over or flip the bag over halfway through my marinade time… or when I remember!

When you’re ready to cook the salmon, you have a couple of options. I’m going to tell you my favorite way first. AIR FRYER (or grill). I love love love my air fryer- it’s perfect for this recipe because you can get that charred, grilled taste you get on the grill, without all the work! (Or, if you’re bbq-ing outside, this would be a million times amazing-er on the grill). But if you want to whip this up in 10 minutes in your kitchen, the air fryer is the way to go.

“Air Fryer” is a misleading name, because it’s not actually frying anything. It’s just a little convection oven that sits on your counter, blowing hot air around. It has the name “fryer” because it gets food really crispy, similar to frying. There is a little tray in most air fryers that elevates the food up, so the air can heat all of the sides of the food, making it really crispy.

So why air fry… if it’s just a little oven. You could get basically the same result if you roast or broil in the oven at a high temperature.

Because. It is FAST. The air fryer takes 3 minutes to heat up, and then cooks food very quickly. I’m always hesitant to add a new appliance that takes up room in my kitchen, but this has earned its keep!

In the air fryer, cook the salmon filets at 400 degrees for a total of 9 minutes, flipping once. LOOK AT THEM. Look at those crispy charred bits. If you think I didn’t eat the little pieces that fell off in the bottom of the pan… well… you probably know I did that. So good! You can also, at this point, throw in your frozen egg rolls… if you are doing that kind of thing…

You can also cook the salmon in the oven at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes. After that, broil them on high (watch carefully!) for a minute or two to get a similar charred texture.

Asian Slaw

For the Asian slaw, I like to use bagged cole slaw mix. It’s cheap. It’s already sliced up for me. What more can you ask for. You could slice cabbage and carrots instead, but…. Why. I love this stuff.

Chop up some green onions and throw them in with the cole slaw mix, and then whisk up the ingredients for the dressing:

rice vinegar – for that tangy taste
soy sauce – for some salt and flavor
olive oil – or sub another mild flavored oil
honey – some sweetness
sesame oil – just a little (it’s strong) – it adds so much unique flavor
ginger and garlic

When the dressing ingredients are combined well, pour them over the cole slaw mix and toss everything together. If you like a softer slaw, make this ahead of time and let it sit in the fridge all day. I like it more crunchy, so I make this just before I want to eat. If you’re making this to meal prep, you might want to leave the sauce off until you eat it.

Bowl Time

Serve with a scoop of white rice (or your carb or other base of choice), some slaw, and your beautiful, crispy salmon. Yummmm. Top with some more green onion, maybe some sliced radish, oh and that frozen egg roll you threw in the air fryer along with the salmon.

Sloth Shortcuts

Use these sloth shortcuts for teriyaki salmon bowls any weeknight!

Sloth Shortcut #1: Frozen salmon, and marinate it all day while you work OR just an hour- it’s fine both ways!

Sloth Shortcut #2: Bagged. Cole. Slaw. Mix. I need say no more.

Sloth Shortcut #3: Air fry these babies! Not only do they get that fresh-off-the-grill tastiness, but it is SO FAST.

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